De Beauvoir, Friedan ... Weingarten?: A Portrait of the New Feminist

WASHINGTON -- Im on the phone with my good friend Gina Barreca, the annoying feminist scholar. She has asked that I put her on speakerphone for this column.

Gina: Have you seen the new survey by Measure of America?

Gene: No.

Gina: It says that Washington, D.C., is the best city in the country for women.

Gene: I knew it! I knew it! For years, you have been calling me a lecher merely because I have noted, on occasion, that I find myself distracted by a cornucopia of seriously hot women in Washington, women of various ages and ethnicities and body types who seem disproportionately alluring to me. Youve accused me of sexism, when, as it turns out, I was merely making an objective observation for which, finally, there is actual statistical proof.

Gina: The survey was not about looks.

Gene: In short, I think you owe me an apology. Wait ... what?

Gina: You made an invalid assumption. The survey was about womens well-being. It was a city-by-city comparison of how much money women make, and their access to education and health care. Washington offers women a better life. The survey did not assess their physical appearance at all.